An artist of another time, Wilhelm Kempff (1895-1991) believed in inspiration: he took on music as if it were a religion, with a respectful enthusiasm for the masters that came before him. With his velvet touch, sense of phrasing and storytelling quality, Wilhelm Kepff’s art was like that of a waking dream. Half poet, half divine, during a time when expression of emotion triumphed all. He recorded many times the works of his favourite composers, in particular his ‘god’ Beethoven, for whom Kempff is well known and left behind three complete sonatas in keeping with his own maturation and the evolution of his recording technique.

The Paradox of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Studio

In France this summer for the Rencontres musicales d'Évian, where he conducted the Symphonic Orchestra of La Grange au Lac, the acclaimed Finnish conductor and prolific composer of over 60 albums Esa-Pekka Salonen discusses his unique approach to working on classical music in the studio.

Bruno Walter, Memories of a Departed Legend

Listening to Bruno Walter’s recordings, in light of the splendid remastered editions published by Sony Classical, you tap into a truly humanistic culture. A tremendous conductor, music was his vocation, a way of life and an art of thought. His recordings have conserved his art vocal music, intense but never sentimental, thanks to a clear linearity complemented by a versatile rhythm, ensuring clarity, coherence and vigour.